Volume 8, Number 5     September/October 2000

Aerospace Technology Development

X-34 Begins New Test Series

A new phase of tests to prepare NASA’s X-34 experimental rocket plane for flight got underway last month at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The tests involve towing the X-34 technology demonstrator behind a truck and releasing it to coast on the Edwards dry lakebed. Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, is developing the X-34 technology demonstrator for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

“The tests, which simulate the vehicle’s roll-out after landing, will verify the craft’s guidance and navigation system, nose wheel steering, braking, rudder speed brake operation and rudder steering,” said Jeff Sexton. Sexton is flight testing and operations project manager for the Pathfinder Program-which includes the X-34. “If we have any vehicle anomalies, we want to find them in ground tests, not in flight or landing.”

For these tests, the X-34 is attached to the tow truck by a specially designed 500-foot cable. A radio link is used to provide communications between the rocket plane and the tow truck launch panel operator.

 
The X-34 technology testbed demonstrator is undergoing tests at Dryden Flight Research Center. The X-34 is a flying laboratory for technologies, operations and experiments applicable to future low-cost, reusable launch vehicles. (Photo courtesy of Dryden Flight Research Center.)

“We’re pleased to begin another series of testing for the X-34 that will bring us one step closer to flight,” said Antonio Elias, senior vice president and general manager of Orbital's advanced programs group. “When completed, they will provide valuable data and help ensure the success of the flight program.”

After completion of ground testing, the X-34 will be attached to Orbital’s L1011 carrier aircraft, Stargazer, to finish captive-carryflights required by the FAA to verify that the combined aircraft are safe to fly. Plans are to follow the certification program with approach and landing flights of the X-34 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

The X-34 is a flying laboratory for technologies, operations and experiments applicable to future low-cost, reusable launch vehicles. It is one of a family of technology demonstrators aimed at lowering launch costs from $10,000 to $1,000 a pound while dramatically increasing reliability. By reducing the transportation cost, a commercial reusable launch vehicle would create new opportunities for scientific, commercial and educational endeavors while significantly improving U.S. competitiveness in the world launch market. NASA will be a customer-not an operator-for a commercial reusable launch vehicle.

The suborbital X-34 is 58.3 feet (17.77 meters) long and 27.7 feet (8.44) meters wide. It is capable of flying up to eight times the speed of sound and reaching altitudes of approximately 50 miles.

For more information, contact Mark Fisher at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 256/544-9503 Mark.F.Fisher@msfc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.




Design Competition Winners Announced

In an idea reminiscent of something in “George Jetson’s”® fleet, a student team has designed an airplane that can double as a car, to offer true door-to-door service.

NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently recognized this and other university student teams for their innovative designs by presenting the 1999-2000 National General Aviation Design Competition awards at a ceremony at AirVenture 2000, the Experimental Aircraft Association's Annual Convention and Fly-In in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The first place award was presented to a 28-student team from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, and its collaborating partner, Loughborough University of Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

The team, which dubbed its design “Pegasus,” undertook the challenge of designing an aircraft that would be “roadable”-capable of both ground and air travel. The ability to switch from aircraft to car-like operation allows such a vehicle to effectively utilize small airports.The team recognized that the cost to actually produce such an aircraft would exceed today’s typical general aviation aircraft cost; however, the students believed the additional cost should readily be offset by the added convenience of built-in ground transportation.

 
Students from Virginia Tech, collaborating with Loughborough University, took first place in the 1999-2000 National General Aviation Design Competition with ‘Pegasus’, an aircraft capable of both air and ground travel. (Photo provided by NASA Langley Research Center.)

Second place honors went to a seven-student team from Purdue University of West Lafayette, Indiana, for the “Silairus 490,” a six-passenger, high-performance piston engine aircraft with an Air Cushion Landing System (ACLS) in lieu of traditional landing gear. The design offers the capability of surface-independent takeoff and landing, permitting the vehicle to access off-airways communities, thus shortening door-to-door travel time. The Silairus 490 features a high-tech, electronically data-linked cockpit with a comfortable cabin adaptable for many client applications.

The Purdue team also won the Best Use of Air Force-Developed Technology award for its incorporation of the ACLS, developed by the United States Air Force.

Third place was awarded to a team from Pennsylvania State University at University Park. The team's design, called “Alnighter,” is a modern, composite general aviation aircraft. The six-seat, single-engine, propeller-driven vehicle has a conventional layout. It features sophisticated aerodynamics and advanced systems and avionics. Penn State has the distinction of having placed in each year of the competition.

The Best Retrofit Design Award was presented to a four-student, University of Oklahoma at Norman team for development of an innovative, multi-mode tuned-exhaust system that offers noise reduction while improving the airplane’s performance. The design was undertaken as a part of a larger aircraft design project to show how an older aircraft can be retrofitted with more modern technologies for increased performance and safety.

Now in its sixth year, the competition calls for individuals or teams of undergraduate and graduate students from U.S. engineering schools to participate in a major national effort to rebuild the U.S. general aviation sector. For the purpose of the contest, general aviation aircraft are defined as single or twin engine (turbine or piston), single-pilot, fixed-wing aircraft for two to six passengers. The competition seeks to raise student awareness of the importance of general aviation by having the students address design challenges for a small aircraft transportation system. NASA and the FAA hope to stimulate breakthroughs in technology and their application in the general aviation marketplace.

The competition is managed for NASA and the FAA by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

For more information, contact Mary Sandy at the Virginia Space Grant Consortium 757/865-0726. Please mention you read about it inInnovation.

 



NASA Official: Jonathan Root

Web Designer: Shawn Flowers

Credits